The 60-year-old star has previously announced 'Phantom Thread' will be his final film, but while he is giving up acting, he is reportedly planning to step behind the camera and move into producing, and has already held meetings with studio executives about a potential future project.

A source told the New York Post newspaper's Page Six column: ''He's been taking meetings about producing projects.''

And Daniel could even be thinking of writing a screenplay.

An insider commented: ''He's a great writer.''

The 'Gangs of New York' star has been spotted at the offices of indie distributor A24 Films, which worked on 'Lady Bird', 'The Disaster Artist' and 'The Florida Project', fuelling speculation about his production plans, but an insider claimed he was just trying to help out a pal.

The source said: ''He is trying to help a friend get a film financed and produced.''

Daniel previously admitted he no longer ''believes'' in his acting work.

He said: ''I need to believe in the value of what I'm doing. The work can seem vital. Irresistible, even. And if an audience believes it, that should be good enough for me. But, lately, it isn't. I've been interested in acting since I was 12 years old, and back then, everything other than the theatre - that box of light - was cast in shadow. When I began, it was a question of salvation. Now, I want to explore the world in a different way.''

The 'Lincoln' actor put out a statement in June confirming his decision to step back from the spotlight, as he wanted to ''draw a line'' to prevent himself from getting ''sucked back in'' to doing one last project.

He said: ''I knew it was uncharacteristic to put out a statement But I did want to draw a line. I didn't want to get sucked back into another project. All my life, I've mouthed off about how I should stop acting, and I don't know why it was different this time, but the impulse to quit took root in me, and that became a compulsion. It was something I had to do.''